CBPWatch

Why Was the CBP Commissioner at Hegseth’s Meeting of Generals? Cohesion between federal agencies and the military to target migrants and other nonwhite groups makes this another alarming observation

SCOOP: CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott attended Hegseth's meeting with generals.

I reached out to the White House and CBP to ask why CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott was at Hegseth's lackluster pep rally today. The White House did not deny his presence but deferred to CBP for comment.

ICE arrested this guy and denied him a bond hearing even though he:

- Has lived here for 32 years.
- Has no criminal record
- Is head of quality assurance and safety for a painting company
- Has six U.S. citizen relatives
- Suffered a stroke in 2022 and needs ongoing care.
- Wasn't even a target.

"Among those arrested was David, a 31-year-old healthcare worker...David, who is gay, was wearing a rainbow Pride wristband as he says he was simply trying to pee when he was arrested."

The Hand That Rocks The Gavel - This American Life A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.

Hi! We made a show for you about what’s been happening at immigration court:

www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...

ICE Is Deporting People to Africa on Nearly Un-Trackable Military Flights Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is deporting people to African countries like Ghana on military flights that are nearly un-trackable.

NEW: Air Force jets are doing ICE flights to Africa with transponders turned off, making them nearly un-trackable.

This includes the third-country removal to Ghana and another secret flight. We figured out where it landed.

From me for @rollingstone.com:

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

López Alvarado said that she tried to tell agents that her baby was due soon. “OK, your baby is going to be born here, but you're from Mexico, right?” they responded. "I was born here," López Alvarado later told Spanish-language media. "I was born in Los Angeles; I was born in Hollywood Hospital.”

VIDEOS: Shadow Hearing: ICE Kidnapping Civilians, Racially Profiling Latinos A shadow hearing in the House covered many of the inconsistencies, lies, and propaganda used to target Latino and Black communities

On Thursday, House Democrats held a shadow hearing titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Assault Destroys U.S. Families and Communities" to discuss many issues surrounding the White House’s mass deportation policies.

A story you will only get here.

open.substack.com/pub/extremea...

‘Crumbled like a house of cards’: Judge slams DOJ claims about deporting migrant children WASHINGTON — A federal judge Thursday barred the Trump administration from deporting unaccompanied children to Guatemala, finding that the administration’s claim of reuniting the children with their p...

‘Crumbled like a house of cards’: Judge slams DOJ claims about deporting migrant children www.newsfromthestates.com/article/crum...

I can’t watch because I’m on a deadline but strongly recommend this thread bsky.app/profile/reic...

Inside a Virginia ICE office: One meal a day, 40 people in a room and no bathing for days "The situation is getting worse by the day," warns Amy Fischer, an organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid. "It is an office; it is not intended to detain people."

NEWS: ICE's Chantilly office is a "black box" where conditions are increasingly dire, attorneys & a relative of person detained tell @msnbc.com
- 1 meal a day = a single burrito
- some 40-90 ppl crammed into room, sleeping on concrete
- Some held as long as 7 days
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/v...

LIVE COVERAGE: 101st Burning of Zozobra YouTube video by KOAT

Happy burning of Zozobra to those who celebrate! www.youtube.com/live/6NfsnBO...

Grand Juries in D.C. Reject Prosecutors’ Efforts to Level Harsh Charges Against Residents

“For the third time in slightly more than a week, grand jurors in Washington have rejected efforts by federal prosecutors to obtain an indictment against a resident accused of a felony assault against a federal agent.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...

Following LA and DC, Trump wants to send the National Guard to other US cities. Here’s how he can do it | CNN Politics President Donald Trump is hoping to replicate his law enforcement efforts in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, in cities across the country, with the administration making moves to once again use the US...

POGO's David Janovsky is in CNN warning that further domestic deployments to cities is "an inherently escalatory situation that puts … the folks who live in these cities and service members who are sent in in a dangerous and volatile situation.”

And how many are they holding at unauthorized facilities?!

The Border Patrol Chief Leading the California Immigration Crackdown

Our profile of Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol chief leading the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles:

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...

Summary of Incident: Fatality of an Unknown Pedestrian who was Struck by a Vehicle on I-210 in Monrovia, California Securing America's Borders

Border Patrol document--OPR preliminary summary of investigation (such as it was) of the death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez (RIP). www.cbp.gov/newsroom/nat.... No mention of OPR agents reviewing body camera footage. Did they not wear or not activate their cameras?

The CBP officer who was hit with the sandwich heard round the world looks to be a Border Patrol agent who was serving in Yuma sector in 2022? www.army.mil/article/2535...

DHS Faces New Pressure Over DNA Taken From Immigrant Children The US government has added the DNA of approximately 133,000 migrant children and teens to a criminal database, which critics say could mean police treat them like suspects “indefinitely.”

DHS took DNA from immigrant children and stored it in a database.

"The agency’s aggressive DNA collection is but one node in a broader effort to redefine policing through vast use of biometric and behavioral data."

This is what massive genetic surveillance looks like.

Border patrol technically…

Account from local DC elected official of an aICE/CBP arrest in DC www.instagram.com/p/DN2Keab2Fg...

🚨Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time.

When the other members of the crew asked for a chance to say goodbye, a Border Patrol agent told the crew member “you need to get the f*ck out of here. I’m going to make you leave.”

Dems in Congress Are Being Denied Access to ICE Facilities. Now They’re Suing. As immigration enforcement spending ramps up, oversight mechanisms have been stifled—including for members of Congress.

“Reports of mistreatment have been widespread and have included disturbing details of overcrowding, food shortages, lack of adequate medical care, and unsanitary conditions.”

Federal judge blocks Trump from swiftly deporting immigrants granted parole The decision could present a major hurdle for the Trump administration and bar federal immigration officers from summarily deporting hundreds of thousands of people.

"Federal judge blocks Trump from swiftly deporting immigrants granted parole"

The decision could present a major hurdle for the Trump admin & bar federal immigration officers from summarily deporting hundreds of thousands

I talked to the @washingtonpost.com about yesterday's ruling

Ninth Circuit Court Denies Stay in L.A. Raids Case Decision leaves temporary order in place, barring DHS from unlawful stop practices

"This decision is further confirmation that the administration's paramilitary invasion of Los Angeles violated the Constitution and caused irreparable injury across the region."

More on our win from this evening: www.aclusocal.org/en/press-rel...

How Trump Made One of the Most Controversial Post-9/11 Policies the New Normal Thousands of other people are going to get put into detention of indeterminate length with far less recourse, which could stretch years.

For @slate.com, I wrote about one dimension of the totalizing Trump/Miller immigration crackdown that's not getting enough notice, which is that they're moving to make indefinite detention — with no release dates and few options to get out — a norm

Here is one of ~50 cases we documented of federal agents--usually masked and unidentified--smashing car windows to grab the person inside.

“She is pregnant!” a man screamed, as his citizen wife sat, terrified

The agents break three windows and grab the man

projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-sm...

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act handed ICE $45 billion to expand ICE detention.

A rural hospital costs ~$80-120 million each year. The amount handed to ICE is enough to run 50 rural hospitals for more than a decade.

“According to the post, Kim spent more than seven days at an SFO detention center without daylight, sleeping in a chair and having no access to an attorney.”

ICE just dropped updated detention statistics through July 27.

ICE reports detaining a total of 56,945 on that date.
www.ice.gov/detain/deten...

Just days ago, Relevant Research released DetentionReports.com and already news outlets are finding it to be a powerful tool for reporting and transparency. 👀 Congrats to Adam & Sunita for getting this done!

Learn more at: austinkocher.substack.com/p/new-tool-d...